During a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am, scientific director of Arabkir Medical Center Ara Babloyan said transferring management of private medical centers to the state may pose serious risks for the private sector.

Babloyan clarified that if this happens, the government will face several organizational issues concerning the protection of collective rights, maintenance of image and property management of the particular medical center.

“The changes may be due to the fact that not all medical institutions were able to assess the situation correctly and organize activities appropriately during the pandemic. If the motive of the Ministry of Health is to change the heads of medical centers, this isn’t too appropriate because it’s hard to find quality directors of medical institutions. So, it is necessary to specify the standards and understand which medical centers can meet those standards and then make decisions,” Babloyan said.

“As far as Arabkir Medical Center is concerned, we need to understand what changes will be made, and only after that will we be able to assess the impact that the change may have on the medical center,” he concluded.

The Ministry of Health of Armenia is developing bills for centralized management of medical centers during a state of emergency or martial law. According to the bills, during a state of emergency or martial law, the government will be able to transfer management of medical centers to the Ministry of Health, regardless of the subordination of medical institutions and the form of the right of ownership.